College of Political Knowledge

Federal Budget Deficit 2010

And the beat goes on….the beat is the rhetoric of the Federal budget deficit and who is good and who is bad…..so far the Repubs say they are good and the Dems are bad…..they have their ideas and most of them involve the livelihood of working stiffs….why is that?  Why is the sacrifice of the working people the only answer that the Repubs seem to have?

Let us be honest……the deficit war cries are nothing but political posturing….after all …it is an election year.  So thanks to the election we have just a wealth of BS rolling off the lips of pundits and politicians alike…..one of my favs is that the deficit can be cut in half by 2020…and the GOP plan is such….thanx to the mind of Rep. Paul Ryan….But the figure that they use assumes that nothing will change in the economic sector….that all variables will remain as they are today or whenever they make these types of statements……….the truth is that it is a LIE……the sector is in constant flux!

— Leaves in place the current Social Security and Medicare system for people 55 and over.

— For those currently under 55, it would reform Medicare with vouchers that seniors would use to buy private insurance. The vouchers would grow more slowly than the projected increase in medical costs, but Ryan argues that competition would keep plans affordable. The age for Medicare eligibility would increase over time from 65 to 69.  (this helps NO one but insurance companies and their affiliates)

— Future Social Security benefits would be reduced for many workers now 54 or younger. They would also have the option of putting into investment accounts some money they would pay in Social Security taxes.  (this could set up making the people that retire with SS as the second class citizens by forcing them further into poverty)

— Gradually raises the retirement age to 70.  (here a great plan!  Force working people to work until them die…would save on resources)

— Eliminates taxes on interest, capital gains and dividends.  (Who in the Hell does this help?  Not the people that have low wage jobs their whole life)

— Replaces taxes on corporations with a consumption tax on what businesses buy.  (In otherwords if they buy nothing in a year then they have to pay NO tax…can humans get this deal?)

— Would freeze increases on most spending by the government but would exempt such programs as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as defense spending.  (With SS, Medicare and defense exempt….what is real left to cut?)

There you have their plan, the GOP that is….a what a good deal it would be for most Americans who depend on SS for their retirement (that is sarcasm in case you missed it)…..

But the GOP wants to cut the deficit in half….but that would still be a trillion dollars or more left behind and what if there is another national disaster?  Do we ignore the suffering of Americans just to keep the fat cats in their cigars and martinis?

Also keep in mind that the Debt and the Deficit are not necessarily the same thing…………..

The National Debt is the total amount of money owed by the government; the federal budget deficit is the yearly amount by which spending exceeds revenue. Add up all the deficits (and subtract those few budget surpluses we’ve had) for the past 200+ years and you’ll get the current National Debt.

Politicians love to crow “The deficit is down! The deficit is down!” like it’s a great accomplishment. Don’t be fooled. Reducing the deficit just means we’re adding less to the Debt this year than we did last year. Big deal — we’re still adding to the Debt.

So go ahead a cut the the deficit in half, if you can…but remember the DEBT REMAINS!

This is typical supply side rhetoric….you can cut the deficit but what about the national debt?  No, Irene they are NOT the same thing!